


The Reluctant Knight

by BelenDigievolution



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Ghost isn't good at this either AU, Only adding important relationship and characters that play major roles for now, all relationships arent romantic, excludes GPZ and Godmaster, follows canon route for Dream No More, i dont want to add the shade mechanic in the literal sense so i'll think about it, mato is best dad, my first work ever hell yeah, someone hug the bugs, someone save them, theyre gonna suffer a lot, theyre more like friends and family and companions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-07
Updated: 2019-03-25
Packaged: 2019-10-24 01:07:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17694671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BelenDigievolution/pseuds/BelenDigievolution
Summary: Anyone would think that any bug capable of swinging a nail would be pretty able to defend themselves, and certainly the Knight seems to be a well skilled warrior...... but what if the opposite was true?





	1. The Forgotten Land

Little bright lights flickered around the streetlamp, their steps making a cracking noise when it stepped on some small plant.

The silent, empty coldness of the darkness seemingly swallowing everything around it, but their pace never stopped.

A small being, bug-alike, wearing a white mask with a pair of horns along with a cloak and an old nail, walked across the lonely path that was barely lit by the weird shiny fly lamps on the sides, following something strange; strong, yet invisible.

They stopped in their tracks, discovering the lights of a sad, little town from afar.

Suddenly, a rush of thoughts came to them. Is this what they were looking for? Was that town the thing calling for them? Would the answers be in there?

Somehow, they knew. They knew all the answers to these questions. The creature took a last look at the town, and leapt down into the darkness...

 

... all the answers were below...

 

* * *

 

They landed with a loud thud, apparently without any damage from the fall and quickly got on their feet. Looking around they started the long, quiet and darkened path to the town they saw before...

 

...

 

... or not.

Was this even a **path**? Then it must have been abandoned for _ages_! The ground gave under their feet and trapped them between spikes on the ground and ceiling, and on top of that small flying creatures started chasing them around... they barely managed to get out of that mini death trap...

Just _what_ is this place??

Climbing up here was hard enough, soon they found themselves with cracks on their shell, tired from both fleeing and fighting for their life, and climbing across the nasty terrain. Maybe following this weird feeling had been a very bad idea.

They reached a small area- that feeling, it just got _stronger_ , had their senses been wrong before?

It ran up to where... whatever it was calling to them, and found themselves looking at some weird kind of egg with inscriptions all over it.

 

_"% &@#$ beings, &*@+! words #=! for you +@&#$._

 

_%@*% &!$+~ strength &#$%^ you *@&#% &$. Focus &#$% soul @*$ #%^ !+*~@ achieve feats =* @*$&% others #@* &^%$ dream."_

 

That was all it could make out of the markings.

Soul? Was it something they had? Was it strength? If so, then that's just what they needed to definitely achieve the feats to come, although they weren’t too sure of how one is supposed to _focus_ on this soul.

Does every moving creature have soul? Was it that other strange feeling filling it every time they hit another bug? Would it help them? Would it protect them?

The feeling was warm, yet strong. Not as strong as the strange calling, but it was welcomed. They could feel it moving inside despite not actually knowing where or how, it felt calming... and then it rushed to their shell at a fast speed. Before they knew it, that warm feeling had coated their mask and mended the wounds it sustained from the previous encounters...

So this was that strength!

With a newfound hope, they resumed their journey through the caves, passing a strange blue cocoon and some other bugs, almost dying to another trap and finally reaching an enormous stone door. It didn't seem very sturdy, was it supposed to keep others out?

Then again, it must have been abandoned long ago like the road leading to it.

There was another of those strange eggs, with some of the same markings as the previous one.

_"Higher % &@#$^, &*@+! words #=! for "%$ alone._

_Beyond @*$ & +~%@# &@^ enter @!* land *& King @*# @($#~+>._

_@*$ & across %#$@ >!~+#*&$ <@# obey our laws."_

From this part they could only make out some words like the last one, but what was written next was completely clear.

 

_"Bear witness to the last and only civilization, the eternal Kingdom._

 

_Hallownest"_

 

That name certainly rang a bell on their head.

So, beyond _this_ door?

They tried to find some way to open it, but more than a door it was like a wall, as if someone had sealed it completely covering the huge entrance.

... Was this to prevent others from getting in?... or to keep something from getting _out_?

A chill ran through their shell, not daring to even imagine what could be it. They would find out once they were in.

With no other option, they began to hit the wall. It had started to break! Now this would make things easier.

After a few strikes, it finally gave in, and the little creature rushed to the other side, fearing that maybe the whole cave would give in and failed to see that there was not much floor beyond. Luckily, they weren’t damaged in the fall and they got back on their feet a little dazed. Now the town was just in front of it.

Would be polite to greet the locals...

 

* * *

 

Alright... greet the local... singular.

The old bug had been very surprised when they approached him, as if they had just seen a Ghost. Probably they weren’t used to others passing by.

This... was a town... right?

 

"Ho there, traveler. I'm afraid there's only me left to offer welcome. Our town's fallen quiet you see.

The other residents, they've all disappeared. Headed down that well, one by one, into the caverns below."

 

No joke, not a single soul out besides them both... Wait, what? Under a well?

 

"Used to be there was a great kingdom beneath our town. It's long fell to ruin, yet it still draws folks to its depths."

 

A kingdom beneath the well? Could it be...?

 

"Wealth, glory, enlightenment, that darkness seems to promise all things. I'm sure you too seek your dreams down there.

Well watch out. It's a sickly air that fills the place. Creatures turn mad and travelers are robbed of their memories.

Perhaps dreams aren't such great things after all..."

 

This had to be it, that kingdom that the egg was talking about. Now that it was taking a moment to scan the surroundings, they noticed that the calling wasn’t coming anymore from the town as they thought, looking at it from the top of the cliffs. It now was actually coming from below it.

They redirected their gaze upon the lone bug in front of them, that seemed to snap him back to their senses.

 

"Ah, apologies. It has been so long since I've talked to anyone. You may call me Elderbug. Would you like to know more about what lies beneath us?"

 

The small creature nodded, Elderbug seemed content to share whatever knowledge he remembered.

 

"Many used to come, hoping the kingdom would fulfill their desires. Hallownest, it was once called.

Supposedly the greatest kingdom there ever was, full of treasures and secrets.

Hm. Now it's nothing more than a poisonous tomb full of monsters and madness.

Everything fades eventually, I suppose"

 

This was it!! This kingdom must be what they have been looking for! They dedicated a small bow to the Elderbug before finally walking aside and eventually reached the well. The only available entrance to Hallownest.

They quickly made their way down, filled with excitement. What would they find? They were so entangled in the wonders hidden in the darkness that they didn't stop to ponder on that 'poisonous tomb' part of what Elderbug said.

 

* * *

 

_'DirthMouth'_

  
_'Crystal Peak'_

  
_'Stag Station'_

  
_'City of Tears'_

 

So then these are supposed to be some kind of crossroads. Pretty empty despite that, but since this is supposed to be a ruin then it would make sense.

Right, maybe _'empty'_ was a bit of an understatement, there were these crawlers... and some bugs that seemingly have gone feral.

And now that they were thinking about it, there was something strange about all these aggressive bugs they've been encountering, aside from the fact that some of these don't look like they were supposed to be feral at all.

They all have been bleeding an orange substance. And it somehow made them feel nervous, even hateful towards it. Even the smaller creatures bleed like that, and the bigger ones had a slight orange hue in their eyes.

 

... Wait... Is that _sobbing_?

 

They trotted to where the crying was coming from, finding themselves in a large room filled with suspended pressure plates and some crawlers on them, alongside some other flying creatures.

Having now some experience on aerial foes, they decided to simply ignore and avoid them to follow the now louder sobbing coming from the other side of the room.

They found a strange, soft-looking bug in some sort of cocoon, sobbing atop the other several empty ones. It could vaguely make out what the bug was saying.

 

"... children... where?... oooh" and the sobbing continued.

 

Seeing that the bug would not even notice them they simply went back to the large room and started making their way down, a bit down to not being able to help the poor grub.

Luckily, these flies did not immediately chase them, instead they just followed their way be it up or down, changing direction every time they bumped into something, a bit interesting to observe.

On their way down, they found a ledge partially covered in weird green-pinkish leaves, and went in the entrance on the side, curious as to where did these plants come from. Excited to see new places.

Or they would, if it weren't for this one large bug blocking the only entrance.

It was armored, and spat both more of the orange blobs (very acid to the touch and deadly) as well as some small bugs that curled themselves up and rolled along in their direction. They tried approaching it to hit it with the nail when they saw an opening, but the foe immediately covered itself with it armored arms, making them impossible to hit.

And below the bridge there was some weird liquid that sizzled every time dust or something fell into it. So, more acid.

They quickly fled back to the pressure plate room, with some cracks in their shell. They took a moment to concentrate and heal, this time with more ease than the last time they did it.

This path was a definite no for now.

Again, they descended more into the room an found another ledge, this time blocked by a smaller version of the large frail wall from before. They took it down with ease and this time, they cautiously made their way in.

It was more darkened than the previous room, and had more of those flying bugs and-

More spikes, of course.

They dispatched of as many bug as they could reach before jumping between the spikes and on safe land, at least until they found a wall that they could not climb, specially because it had even more spikes on the sides.

They simply left, and as they descended a little more, they heard some happy humming.

Hopefully it was a nice bug.

They continued down and once they reached the bottom, found themselves descending in yet another room under the one they were in and went down to find a round bug with some glasses, papers and quills, as well as a large and slim nose. So the humming was coming from them!

They approached the bug happily, and when they did not turn their head when they were in their side, they tugged a bit on their bag and the stranger stopped attending to their map.

 

"Hmm? Ah, hello there. Come down to explore these beautiful old ruins? Don't mind me... I've a fondness for exploring myself. Getting lost and finding your way again is a pleasure like no other. We're exquisitely lucky, you and I... I'm a cartographer by trade, and I'm working on mapping this area right now. Would you like a copy of my work so far?"

 

They tilted their head, looking at what the bug was working on. 30 geo is what the bug said it was worth. Geo?

Puzzled, they started emptying their... whatever and some small shiny trinkets fell to the ground.

 

"You've got quite a few pieces there. Only 30 and this map is yours" the cartographer said.

 

They counted what they had, 78 pieces. They counted out 30 and handed it out to the bug, who gave them the map and resumed their humming and work.

A bit confused, they catched the bug's attention again.

 

"Oh, by the way, I haven't introduced myself have I? Yes, I should apologize for that. When you spend a lot of time by yourself, with just your own thoughts, you forget the niceties of conversations.

My name is Cornifer, and I've always loved exploring the world. Why, when I was first hatched I wandered off immediately, leaving my brothers and sisters and my poor mother behind! ... That's why as soon as I could I moved to Dirthmouth with my wife. A huge, unending Kingdom to explore right on our doorstep. Who could resist? Anyway, I'll let you return to your travels. With a little luck, we'll meet again. Be safe and farewell!" said Cornifer, happily going back to mapping the area.

 

They seemed content with what they were doing, and despite their curiosity they let them be and wandered even more deeper into the crossroads.

The ground seemed to have collapsed a long time ago, and at the bottom there were more of those spikes. Wonderful.

They heard some noises coming from the other side, would it be a bad idea to check? They thought, and a second later they were carefully jumping over the small spots of spike-less land they could land on to reach the other side safel-

 

_**Gah!** _

 

A falling stalactite, just what they needed.

They had to hurry to the other side to avoid more of them, and once they reached the other side they were greeted by a very large worm-like creature with spikes all over its body that kept going in and out from the ground. At least it didn't seem to be aggressive, it just kept going at it. At least it was safe to jump over them when they were underground.

They soon reached another chamber, this time full of acid and a lone large flying bug with a bright orange belly in the middle. It didn't immediately attack, nor approach, but it started to… hatch? very much smaller creatures that did, in fact, attempt to harm them. The only difficulty was to dispatch of the little ones before finally killing the mother.

 

They jumped over the acid and avoided more stalactites… And found a grub!

 

The little one immediately perked up and smiled at them. Strange, they were encased in a weird looking jar. Who had put them there in the first place? Would they come back for it? When thinking about these questions, a realization dawned upon them.

That lone grub from before! All the other cocoons must have been occupied by some of these little ones before, so that's why it was crying! Hopefully they would be a little bit happier with the one that they just freed. They even made sure to break the jar after the little one was free, for good measure.

They went back to that spike room and into the other entrance where they found yet another orange flying bug, but much smaller.

They didn't feel like fighting against this one. Maybe there is a way around?

They noticed a ledge in which they could jump into, and when they did they found a couple of rocks that glinted in the dark.

Isn't this geo?

They hit it with the nail, and the small shiny pieces fell off it. And there were more, awesome! When hitting one in particular, they noticed that the wall behind was breaking apart with the same strikes, so they did so until it gave out. Secret passages! Nice, and more geo! Even better.

They went back to pick up the fallen pieces, carefully stepping into the room with the little foe. But then the door closed behind them, as well as all the other entrances. Leaving them trapped with the little bug. They dispatched of it with ease, but then more came out.

An ambush?! These pesky pests! They had to maneuver around the environment to avoid the acid spits of the flies and eventually killed them, and finally, the doors opened.

They had just gotten hit a couple of times, but they were getting better at fighting. They noticed a warm glow from the upper entrance on the other side of the room and approached it to find hot springs and a bench.

Some rest would be nice. They soaked into the waters and immediately felt at ease, safe. After some minutes they got out and sat on the bench to check the map. They wouldn’t stay in that place for long.

After all, someone had to explore at the fullest these forgotten crossroads.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hewwo! This is my very first actual fanfic and also the first work i do for this fandom!  
> Since like, half of the fan-base isn't really good at this game i thought "hey, what if the knight wasn't as good either" and BAM  
> are you proud of me Leo
> 
> and since this is the first chapter and... i have NO IDEA on when ill be submitting the next part, here's what i have considered for the story route;  
> Dream no more  
> Grimm Troupe - yes  
> GPZ - no  
> Godmaster - no  
> Colosseum - probably  
> All ghosts - yes  
> All dream bosses - yes  
> All characters that are dead or gone in game stay dead and gone  
> (this includes characters like Myla and Leg Eater as well as the Pale King)
> 
> this is gonna be a trip.  
> See ya'all later!


	2. Dangers and greenery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The little Knight meets new friends, new enemies and new places. They learn a new spell, and a red cloaked bug has caught their attention.

One,

two,

three,

down.

 

Three strikes is what it takes to kill the regular sized bugs, the big worms can’t be damaged, the smaller bugs take two hits…

All these little mental notes will be of help while they explore around. There was an interesting looking chamber in the heart of the Crossroads and they were in their way there.

They found a sign, and soon enough a bench. A ‘Stagstation’ according to the words, but it was closed and required geo to open. They decided to simply wait until later and go back on the road.

They encountered an enemy bigger than the ones they had faced before, it was round and with some sort of club. Certainly stronger and possibly smarter too. There was a way around it, so they took the chance.

Maybe they’ll fight it later.

Still going across the hallway, they fought more enemies and finally arrived at the chamber which was bigger than they had thought. The door across was strangely closed and there was no clear way to open it. The only way now was either go back, or up.

They climbed only halfway, since there were no more ledges that they could reach, and found themselves in yet another big chamber with some bugs in there and a passage, an exit. They quickly got rid of the enemies in between and made their way to the doorway.

 

And then it closed on their face.

 

The ceiling shook violently and a huge bug came through it, landing with such force that the whole floor trembled under its weight. It wore an armor and had a hammer for a weapon. Not only that, but the door where they came from was now also closed.

They were frozen in place.

They weren’t ready for the encounter. They had evaded a bug much smaller than this one, how would they stand a chance against this one? They didn't even notice when the enemy raised their hammer and swinged it down upon them with such force, they almost felt their shell split into two.

How they were alive, they could not explain themselves.

They were staggered, and barely could dodge rubble that fell from the ceiling. 

They forced themselves to come back to their senses, and dodged yet another hit their foe was about to land. They had to be careful on their approach, since the enemy had more range than them they maneuvered around them to strike them as much as possible in every opening they made.

The foe staggered and fell over rolling, and the helmet opened to reveal a round, soft looking bug, and they were quick to strike them more before the bug concealed themselves again in the armor. Their strategy seemed to work, their foe had staggered a couple more of times.

However, they were quickly thrown aback by a wave of white energy that raised from the ground after one of their attacks. They reacted too late and were hit by it.

The huge knight started hitting the ground again and again with their maze, making more rubble fall from the ceiling, the little one was still trying to recover when a bit of rubble fell on them.

They desperately tried to put some distance between the huge warrior and them, to at least fix some of the cracks, but their foe was surprisingly quick in closing distance and they could not heal and move at the same time, so instead of scurrying away they went back to the previous strategy, this time avoiding the new attacks and keeping a good distance as to not be squished by their maze again. It looked like they almost had their enemy defeated, when they stupidly tripped with one of the rocks that had fell from above and were left wide open for an attack which, obviously, their enemy took to send another wave of white energy at them.

Now they were panicking.

For a moment, they wildly swinged their nail blind by fear making their enemy step back for a second. The huge knight prepared to hit them again with the maze but the little one slipped under them to strike them from the back, making the huge bug stagger one more time to reveal their round head and hit them again. When their foe got back to their feet they hit the ground again several times before finally breaking it and falling down.

They fell after the fallen knight, and when the white round head was revealed again they didn't hesitate in hitting them until they were finally dead, revealing that it was in fact a small maggot in a huge armor.

 

Were… were they really that bad at this? To the point that a maggot had almost killed them?

 

They trembled with anger, kicking something that had also fell from the armor, it looked like some sort of badge so they took it out of spite and walked down a path to the left that had just opened after the maggot died, on the other side there was a doorway and a chest in an upper platform which they hit open. Not even the geo that came out of it was enough to calm them down immediately.

_ Dumb maggot, and their dumb armor, and their dumb mace that… was walking away?????? _ They observed with curiosity at how the ball ripped itself off from the handle and was now scurrying away. They quickly went back and knocked it away with their nail, but it just got on its feet again and continued it’s escape.

 

_ Dumb walking mace. _

 

* * *

The new pathway was soon filled with masks and weird torches, they had opened a shortcut to where Cornifer was earlier, but they were very weakened at the moment and didn't want to bother with the pressure plates and all those gruzzers.

They soon reached a large building and, once inside, their eyes immediately laid on a bench just a few inches away. They launched themselves onto the cold bright metal and curled up over it, quickly drifting into slumber, not even noticing that they weren’t alone in the room.

 

…

 

_ Bonk- _

 

_?????? _

 

They were rudely awakened by something hitting them in the head, they were startled at first, swinging their nail wildly around them and someone yelped besides them.

 

“Cease your panicking, little one! I am no threat for any of your kind, Oho! I saw you creeping out of the darkness. My, you're looking grim! A strange, empty face and a wicked looking weapon!”

 

In front of them there was a… snail? Their shell was gray, and their neck was decorated with little masks, and they were holding some sort of staff. So they were the one who hit them.

 

“I must apologize for awakening you in such a way, but you see- I didn’t want to be hurt trying Ohoho!. And you went straight for the bench and immediately fell into slumber! Normal bugs wouldn’t kindly take that sort of behavior”

 

The snail said, as if lecturing them… and it was working somehow; now they felt bad for not even taking a glance at them before falling asleep. But in their defense; they were in the brink of death.

 

“Something important has drawn you down into Hallownest's corpse, but I won't ask what. Perhaps the reason you've found me is because you need my help?”

 

They tilted their head, how could a snail help them?

 

“Say no more, friend. I'm going to give you a gift, a nasty little spell of my own creation. It's just perfect for a little one like you! Ohoho!”

 

The snail took their staff with both hands, and started chanting something strange. Right after that, the staff began to glow, and some sort of power was drown from all directions and condensed into… something… floating right after them. It felt like soul; calm and still, but also there was something… vengeful abou it. They looked at the snail once more, hesitating.

 

“Don't be afraid. Have faith! That spell belongs to you now, all you need to do is take it!”

 

Really? Would it really be useful? Could they trust this Snail Shaman?

 

“Ohohoho, you won't be going much further without it, I promise you!”

 

Well- they were right about that. That encounter with that False Knight almost got them killed… and if their foes were going to be more fierce from now on, they would need something else to defend themselves if they wanted to even survive those kind of encounters.

Cautiously, they approached the blob of soul floating there. They were still unnerved by it, the aura seemed stronger than what usually soul feels like… They shake their head; no point in hesitating for much longer. They went to grab it, and felt themselves float in the air as they absorbed all the condensed energy into their body, it rushed directly into their core. Such was the force of it that they passed out right after that, and the next thing they knew was that they now were behind a metal door on the ground, deeper into the mound… And the Shaman was on the other side of the door… The side that had the exit…

 

Were… were they tricked?

 

They rattled the iron bars, attempting to make any sort of opening. Of course it didn’t work, but it woke the Snail Shaman up.

 

“Oho? You've woken at last! I apologise, perhaps I should have warned you about the power of that spell. I was watching over you as you slept, but seem to have slipped away myself! Ohohoho!”

 

_ But what about the locked door? _

 

“Now we're awake, I was wondering whether you would do me a small favour. Not as repayment for my gift of course, simply because we're now friends.”

 

_ Pretty sure friends don't lock each other behind metal doors. _

 

“You see, a horrid great beast has made its home in the heart of this temple. Such disrespect! I would be quite grateful if you were to venture deeper in and slay it for me.”

 

_ What about the door? _

 

It's a hardy creature, but with your new power you're more than a match for it! Good luck with this small favour, my friend! Ohohohohohoho!”

 

_ The door. _

 

“What is it? Are you wondering about this gate between us? Ohoho! It's a curious thing, but this door will not open until you have slain that creature lying in the heart of the temple.

 

Don't worry about it. I'm sure the spirits of my ancestors will be watching over you.”

 

…

 

_ You little- _

 

* * *

Just a few husks and some more of those flies, it wasn't  so bad after all. They had to slash down some boarded planks that were blocking the way and kill some more enemies. Not much later they encountered some small chubby bugs that at first, didn't seem like much of a danger, or that was until they came rolling towards them. Despite their small size, they still dealt some damage, so either kill them fast enough or jump over them was the strategy.

After several rooms with more enemies and spikes, they were given two paths to proceed; one leading to more enemies and a Totem, and the other leading down, both boarded. They decided to go to the Totem path merely to look at the object, realizing that it was emanating soul and that they were able to absorb it by hitting the totem to make it spill out, although shortly after it ran out of the white energy source. They didn't want to deal with more enemies so they simply went down the other path.

 

They should have looked beforehand.

 

A huge, blue armored bug in the likeness of the small rolling ones stood right in the doorway to the exit, and there was no way up which meant they were trapped. Just great.

It started to spit out orange acid at them, easily avoided, but once they came close to it the bug hid all the vulnerable tissue with their blue armor completely, it wasn't attacking anymore but it also wasn't going to move, now that was a problem. When they walked away from it the blobs of acid were spit out again from its mouth, and later they also spat out more of the rolling bugs. It still wasn't as problematic, but they couldn't keep fighting enemies for all eternity… Wait a moment…

 

_ The spell! They had completely forgot about it!! _

_ … but also the Shaman didn’t say how to use it!!! _

 

It certainly wasn’t a positive at all, they had to figure it out! After all they were trapped in here with that bug, and they would probably end up getting killed by it sooner or later.

Maybe something about the way they felt when they absorbed the spell, it could work. It felt aggressive once they touched it… Unlike when they focused to repair their shell, which was more like letting soul coat their body to heal… Maybe anger was the key? They surely had some to spare-

 

_ Gah! _

 

One of the orange blobs hit them right in the head, they quickly shook it off, but it still left some damage in their shell, interrupting their concentration.

 

_ Dumb orange goop. _

 

More of the rolling bugs, they killed some, but they misjudged how far one of these bugs was and they missed their hit, giving an opening to the small bug to make them trip.

 

_ Dumb rolling bugs. _

 

They again tried to quickly get close to their foe, but it was even more quicker to move their arms to cover their face again.

 

_ Dumb armored bug. _

 

When they attempted to get away to gain some distance and regain their composure, they failed to notice one of the smaller bugs and barely dodged it, only to get hit again by goop.

 

_ Dumb, dumb mound _

 

They again locked eyes with the beast.  _ Dumb knight. Dumb snail. Dumb spell. Dumb bug. Dumb armor. Dumb soul. Dumb-  _ **_Dumb- DUMB-_ **

 

The soul they had somehow stored condensed around them and, in an spectacle of light, it furiously shot some sort of vengeful spirit forwards from where they were, directly hitting the blue armored bug making it recoil in pain. They were taken aback by the sheer strength of it, and immediately modified their strategy to defeat their now vulnerable foe.

They took advantage on the fact that it sometimes spit out more of the smaller bugs to gain more soul, and thanks to that they continuously fired the Vengeful Spirit again.

They liked the ring of that name.

Their enemy was soon dead, falling to the ground and dropping a generous amount of geo which scattered all around.

 

They were  _ SO  _ taking that.

 

Once they were done, they walked across the damn doorway and found in the ground a small, round object. It emanated with some foreign power.

 

They were  _ also  _ taking that.

 

After knocking down more boarded passages, they were finally back to where the door and the Snail Shaman was.

 

“Oho! So it's done then, you've slain the beast!

The poor thing! It must have been terrified of you. It used to be quite docile, but the rancid air in these caverns filled it with some ancient rage.

Still, you did what had to be done! You have my gratitude! Of course, we both know you wouldn't have made it through without that spell of mine... Ohoho!”

 

As soon as they finished talking, the door opened.

 

“And look! The gate between us has opened. Ohoho!”

 

_ Yeah sure, very convenient. _

 

“I'm sure you're eager to move on. Farewell, and have faith! Whatever you are seeking... it will find you! Ohohoho!”

 

They weren’t surely coming back anytime soon… or ever.

 

* * *

They had gone through the passage they had opened earlier when they realized; there was that passage full of green leaves which was guarded by another of those blue armored bugs, now they could pass through!

Now that they had some geo, probably they should go back to dirtmouth. They went up the same plate pressure room and walked up to the chain to get to dirtmouth, but when they were about to go up, they felt some sort of curiosity in the path to the right. Couldn’t hurt to have a look, right?

What they found was...ominous; it was a giant temple, black like coal, and the windows and door made the structure look like it had a face and… for some reason they started feeling anxious, uncomfortable… What was causing this sensation?

They decided to walk in, and found a giant, black egg with a door that had some symbols carved into it, and in front of it was a tall bug with a long nail. They approached slowly, and the bug turned to them shortly after.

 

“Hello there! How delightful to meet another traveler on these forgotten roads.

You're a short one, but you've a strong look about you.”

 

_ Not at all _ the little one thought to themselves.

 

“I'm Quirrel. I have something of an obsession with uncharted places.

This ancient kingdom holds many fascinating mysteries, and one of the most intriguing of them is standing right before us.”

 

They both turned to look at the giant egg.

 

“A great stone egg, lying in the corpse of an ancient kingdom. And this egg...Is it warm? It certainly gives off a unique air.

Can it be opened? There are strange marks all over it…”

 

Would it really be a good idea?

 

“I do so love a mystery...And who knows what other marvels lie even deeper below us...

For so long I've felt drawn here. So many tales full of wonders and horrors. No longer could I resist. I just had to see it for myself.

And what a time I chose to arrive! This dead world has sprung to life.

The creatures are riled up and the earth rumbles. The air is thick. I wonder what could have brought it all about?”

 

Wait, so this place wasn't always like this?

 

“To persevere in this ruin, that old nail alone just won't be enough. Though that's no problem! One only has to look around.

Plenty have come before us and most have met their grisly end, many more equipped than you and I.

I'm sure they wouldn't mind were a fellow explorer like me or a wanderer knight like you to relieve them of their tools. It's a kindness really. The dead shouldn't be burdened with such things.”

 

Wait, what did Quirrel call them again?

 

“Did you pass that town above? What a gloomy little place. And such majesty hidden right beneath!

I suppose that's why they've all headed down here. Who could resist such possibilities?”

 

They looked up at Quirrel, and tilted their head. What did he call them?

 

“Truly a marvel…”

 

What did he call them?

 

“Hm? What’s wrong, little knight?”

 

There it was again.

 

For some reason… it sounded right, they liked it. They took their nail and looked at it, so they were a knight?

 

“You’re wondering about how i can tell you have great strength? Well… I’m not entirely sure myself but, not many bugs wear a full head mask, is it a new type of helmet? Surely provides more protection than a regular mask”

 

Quirrel says, and the… knight puts their nail back to their place, simply nodding at them. Quirrel said a couple more things before the knight left them so he could inspect the black egg some more.

 

Now would be a good opportunity to go to dirtmouth.

 

* * *

They bought some map pins from Cornifer’s wife; Iselda. They looked rather down at the moment so they simply bought a bench pin along with a feather pen and a compass charm. Elderbug was kind enough to teach them about how to use the charms, it took a bit to make their only two charms stick to their cloak so that those wouldn't fall while they walk or run. One of them was the compass and its usage was obvious, but the other one was almost a complete mystery. They tested their charms a bit with some tiks and gruzzers before going back to that hallway with green leaves.

Now there was something they missed the first time the went in this place, there was some sort of tablet with text on it.

 

_ The Pilgrim's Way _

 

_ Travellers of Hallownest, descend through verdant wilds and fungal groves to the city at this kingdom's heart. _

 

_ There all wishes shall be granted, all truths revealed. _

 

That city sounded promising.

The second encounter with the big blue armored bug was waaay easier now that they knew what to do. They easily defeated their enemy, and could finally enter the new area.

There were more big pools of acid with few sparse terrain to land on. They simply leapt from one platform to another, eventually reaching safer ground and going through another passage.

 

* * *

This place is… beautiful.

Despite the pools of acid, despite the new enemies that charged at the knight and created clouds of toxins, this place was amazing. There were lots and lots of greenery everywhere and it was so full of life! The knight walked along the broken hallways admiring their surroundings.. Or at least they were until one of the bushes came to life and made them trip and gain a crack on their mask.

Maybe  _ too  _ full of life.

While exploring they barely avoided a plant that used its leaves as a mouth.

 

**_Too_ ** _ full _ of life.

 

They soon found a bench and decided to take a rest there. They didn't have a map so they had no idea to where to go next, but it was going to be fun to explore.

They took a moment to admire the plants and vegetation some more before proceeding deeper into this green path.

It was interesting how the place was so full of leaves that with every step some of them would float aside and go back to the ground-

 

_???? _

 

A taller white masked bug, wearing a red poncho and wielding a needle was at the top of one of the platforms, they grew excited for a moment; would they be friendly too? They got their attention and simply looked at them, waiting for anything to be said by the other. Such was their surprise when the red cloaked bug simply turned around and left.

 

_ Rude. _

 

They tried to jump onto the same platform they were in, but it was too tall to actually land on it, and their stubby hands couldn’t help them climb up.

 

The way around, it is.

 

The only way around seemed to be to travel more down and then right, and the first thing that caught the Knight’s eye were the logs tied on the ceiling, pretty peculiar, and after dodging another type of flies and more of those toxin bugs they heard another humming, it was familiar so they rushed to the source. In their way they also heard a grub, and doing some jumps to get a log down they managed to easily reach the little one and release it. Then they dropped down and found Cornifer, scribbling the area in one of their papers. They tapped their bag again to get their attention.

 

“Isn't this a contrast from the Crossroads? Such a humid, lively place. The roads twist and turn in the most wonderful ways... I've done my best to chart the area ahead, though I must admit some of the area's inhabitants proved quite a nuisance.”

 

The Knight gave 60 geo to Cornifer and took the map.

 

“I ran into another traveller as I made my way down here.” Interrupted Cornifer, to the Knight’s surprise, “I tried to call out to her as she dashed past but she barely even glanced in my direction. Not an appreciator of maps like you and I, obviously.”

 

The Knight tilted their head, could it be the red cloaked bug from before? They glanced down at the map; taking a look at it, the part of it that was scribbled down showed a long path, going down, then left and then up to a bench, to then go left again to a place that seemed interesting. She probably went over there?

They waved Cornifer goodbye before continuing on their journey deeper into the lush landscape. They went even more deeper into the land, the path went more down and down everytime they reached a new platform, and found an interesting hallway filled with strange pointy rocks.

The False Knight encounter was still fresh in their mind, so the Knight approached the entrance with caution, trying to hide in the grass that was growing everywhere. Their cover didn't last long as they jumped in surprise when a roar was heard in the entire room, coming from a weird bush with teeth, the Knight pulled out their nail, preparing themselves for the possible fight, but the creature didn't move, at all. So the Knight approached, still ready for a conflict, and they were surprised when the bush spoke.

 

“Tiny squib... You approach fearless. Are you a hunter like me?”

 

… did it  _ just  _ call them ‘ _ Tiny squib _ ’…?

 

The Knight simply stared at the six white eyes that glowed in the darkness, this made the creature curious.

 

“Do you feel the urge inside, to stalk, to kill, to understand?”

 

Not so sure about the first two, but understanding would be good. The Knight nodded.

 

“Then take it! My journal. It will aid you. At first the text may seem difficult to discern, but a learned hunter will come to understand its words.”

 

The Hunter seemed to spit something out of the darkness, and said journal fell short from the Knight’s feet. They reached down to it, holding it between their hands, looking at the entries; they all looked like scribbles… and there were no visual references.

 

“Venture the depths of this land and slay its beasts. Prove yourself worthy to bear the mark of Hunter.”

 

The Hunter said before going quiet completely, seemingly having disappeared into the darkness. The Knight decided to simply leave it as it is, saving the journal under their cloak.

Once they were out of the hallway they kept following the map’s path, freeing a grub in the way and going left until they saw the red bug from before, they hurried into the room only for her to throw her needle and somehow pull herself at lightspeed to the other side of the room. Was she evading the Knight?

They decided to ignore alternative paths and simply follow her the best they could, slaying more enemies that got in their way, although none of them seemed to actively be attacking the Knight… yet. They reached another acid filled room with some ground and could barely make out the red cloak dashing across rapidly, so they ran after her going across some smaller and larger platfo-

 

whoa  _ whOA  _ **_WHOA_ **

 

They narrowly avoided a bush of moss charging after them, it had appeared out of nowhere and that was definitely not good at all… They rushed to reach a different platform only to be surprised by apparently the same bush coming out of the ground and charging at the same speed, and it was the same by the next large ground area. The red cloaked bug was on one of the upper ones, and turned to look at them when the Knight came closer while escaping from the moss charger… but she only turned back and walked away. Rude.

 

Once one of the chargers were about to hit them, the Knight swung their nail out of reflex and saw a small bug come out of the mass of moss and retreat back into the ground too fast to catch up to it…. One of those again…

 

They were not important, the Knight had to follow the other bug.

 

They chased her out of the room, up some more debris that had formed some ledges, and somehow she went past a metal door that had a bench on the other side, which the Knight had to pay 50 geo to open to continue their chase… Or at least they tried until they were stopped by a wall that was too high for them to climb. They kicked the ground, frustrated to be stopped by something so mundane and just went back to find a way around. The room on the right was a tad too suspicious to go in, so the Knight decided to go up in case it was a better path. It was a dead end with a stone that had carvings all over it and it read;

 

_ “The greater mind once dreamed of leaf and cast these caverns so. _

_ In every bush and every vine the mind of Unn reveals itself to us _ .”

 

The Knight pondered for a moment on who could Unn be, so they scribbled a small note on their map along with the location to this stone and decided to go back until they saw a strange blue plant. They remembered that plant… and they also noticed the fragile wall behind it which they hit several times until it gave in, finding another of those blue cocoons. They were about to leave it alone when they remembered that one of the Hunter’s entries might actually have something about it, so they decided to examine it and strike it with their nail after which two small round blue colored bugs fell from and tried to scutter away from the Knight. When they slashed at the little bugs some blue liquid came out from the insides and coated their shell, somehow it felt like another shell on top of their body and they took a moment to look at the journal and hopefully find the entry.

 

_ Lifeseed _

 

_ Small scuttling seed filled with Lifeblood, which can be extracted and consumed for its healthful properties. _

 

_ ‘The bright liquid inside of these little fellows is delicious, and drinking it will make you feel stronger. I wonder how my own innards taste... would it be a heinous thing to try and drink some?’ _

 

…

 

That’s enough reading.

 

* * *

They tried to shake off the thought of the Hunter’s notes while passing an empty room when the doors closed both in the front and the back, keeping them trapped in the room where one of the bushes came to life to reveal a tall moss bug with a nail and shield. They cursed their luck while preparing to fight their new foe.

This part of the greenpath looked more like the crossroads.

There were more of the smaller bugs around so the Knight proceeded without much problem, at least until…

 

“Release me, you cowardly beast! Don't you see you can’t do harm to me- guh! Stop that!”

 

_???? _

 

They rushed into the room and followed the sounds, until they found a very large fly nibbling on some other bug. They were being eaten!

Without thinking they jumped up the platforms to strike the beast and make them drop the poor little bug, making it shift its attention to the newcomer, roaring in defiance. It flew too far away to hit with the nail so they decided to stop trying to attack to observe the movements of the large vengefly, it flew just out of reach for a while before preparing to charge at the Knight, attack which they dodged pretty easily. It charged some more times before roaring again, calling in a couple of normal vengeflies that they had to spent some time killing before focusing on the larger one. Now that they saw the openings it was pretty easy to kill the beast, which they did and also got some geo out of it, sweet!

The Knight approached the fallen bug, concerned, and felt relieved when they got up… only for a second…

 

“Just what do you think you're doing?! You dare to come between me and my prey? Is it a habit of yours to scurry about, getting in the way and causing bother?”

 

They immediately regret this.

 

_ No  _ no, they had to at least be polite, the bug sounded kind of... old. They took another look at them to make sure they weren’t hurt.

 

“What are you still bothering me for? I'm a Knight. I'm not interested in your childish games. I need my rest.

Begone! Lest I draw my nail...

Know this, cur. I am Zote the Mighty, a knight of great renown.” they took out a nail made of wood “Cross me again, and you'll find out why they call my weapon 'Life Ender'!”

 

...

 

They  **_definitely_ ** regret this.

 

* * *

They found a passage in the other side of the room that went down, and the Knight found themselves again surrounded by green vegetation. While going down the path, they avoided more of those mossy knights as well as a poor grub that was most likely guarded by one too, pretending to be a bush. It pained the small Knight to leave it there, but they made sure to mark it on their map… They wanted to find the red cloaked bug first.

A moss charger almost hit them again, so they decided to no bother with it at the moment and go to where a log was tied up. They could feel a slight breeze come from under it, so they cut the rope and the log fell down along with themselves, then it hit them; it was the wall that had stopped them before! Then this was the right path. The Knight jumped onto the platform with the help of the log, and avoided a small moss crawler.

The map said that this was the path to that interesting looking place, and they were mostly convinced that the one they pursued would be there… So they continued deeper into that path.

It was quiet, eerily quiet. They felt an uneasiness crawl over their shoulders as they came closer to an opening at the end, where they once more saw the needle wielder, standing with her back turned. Maybe it would be a good idea to say hi now? But once they were too close, she hold up her nail at them, threateningly.

 

“Come no closer, ghost.

I've seen you, creeping through the undergrowth, stalking me.”

 

They suddenly felt like this was a bad idea, maybe all she wanted was to be left alone.

 

“This old kingdom... A terrible thing awakens. I can smell it in the air…”

 

While she talked, the Knight drifted their gaze beyond her and saw some other bug similar to them, impaled to a pillar with what seemed to be their own nail. Did… did she do this? Realization dawned upon them as soon as they looked back at her, and saw how she glared at them.

 

Oh.

 

“I know what you are.”

 

_ Oh no. _

 

”I know what you'd try to do.”

 

_ No no  _ **_no NO_ ** _ - _

 

“I can't allow it…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long to post! I intended to post this earlier but thought that having someone proof read this would be a good idea. Thing is that they first took a look at the first chapter and after that time never went back to it, so eh.  
> If there are any grammar mistakes, tell me please!


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